45acp in a 1911

rojkoh wrote: Chargar wrote: I have well over 1/4 million rounds of cast bullets through quite a few 1911 pistols over the past half century. Every one of them has been lubed with a mix of beeswax and Vaseline (about 70/30), and 99% have been fueled with Bullseye. They have all been sized .452.

I have never had problems with pistol stoppage due to powder or lube fouling. I do clean after every range session.

Nothing personal, but I've fired more than that through 1911s. Given the amount of shooters during the 70's and 80's shooting IPSC before it went the way of the race guns, We continually went through of “Which is the best powder” for years. Unique was dropped fairly quickly, Bullseye, faltered in the long run because of how filthy it is and the fact you have to work to get positive ignition every time. Even with the current Bullseye being different from what it once was, ask Ed Harris about this one.

Understand that in those days we shot 1911s that were “tight” for accuracy. Something I don't worry about much anymore. But you get something like a exceptionally nice Les Baer.... they have to be kept clean.

Shot my 1911A1 NM two or three times in the past couple of weeks, haven't had the time to clean it (buried in rifle work). Not worried that it'll jam.. But I don't like to tear down a good 1911 everytime I use it (I field clean) because it does add wear and tear to the weapon.

As an afterthought: I can tell you how many rounds it takes to wear out a good Colt 70 series. I can tell you how many rounds it takes to jam a 1911 using FFGf. Some of the things we've done over the years. One of my old friends owned the Bianci cup for years. Rob Latham and Brian Enos were “new kids” in our days. That steel plate I'm playing with in the picture was 101 yards away.

I have long ago quit trying to convince anybody my understanding about anything is superior to their understanding on any subject under the sun. That just isn't productive.

I will just add context to my post in favor of Bullseye. Most of the rounds mentioned in my initial post were fired in Bullseye matches from the late 50s to the mid 60s, long before the steel shooting game came along. Having each bullet strike the X-ring at 25 or 50 yards was the order of business. All of our guns were very, very tight match pistols. Mine were put together by Clark and Chow. The slide and frames were mated by lapping, i.e. very tight.

Bullseye was the powder of choice and we didn't experience the issues you related. However, we did clean our guns after every practice session and match. It seems to be the fashion today to run the pistols until they choke or every 5K rounds which every comes first. We didn't do that. I still don't do that.

I don't shoot as much as I once did, but still put several thousand rounds through my 3 1911 pistols. I still use Bulleye and still clean them after every range session and I am still pleased with the loads.

In the end, I simply relate my experience, which extensive, with Bullseye powder in the 1911 pistol (45 ACP). Folks can input that or not, as they wish.